Health Benefits of Honey and Sample Recipe

Honey is associated with bees, as they produce this from flowers’ nectar. It is usually made by stingless bees, bumblebees, and hymenopteran insects like honey wasps. Primarily, honey is used in cooking and baking, in addition to being a spread on bread and sweetener in some drinks. Along with these uses, honey also has a number of health benefits.
Energy Booster

Honey can boost energy. According to Benefits of Honey, it is a natural source of carbohydrates, which provide energy and strength to the body. Thus, honey can improve the performance and endurance of athletes, while decreasing their fatigue level. Since honey has glucose, it is absorbed by the body to gain a quick boost and maintain constant levels, as opposed to other forms of sugar
As per the publication, a spoon of honey can be consumed before training for endurance. Also, it can be spread on a hot toast or used a sugar replacement in tea, instead of drinking a can of energy drink. For children’s snacks, honey can be prepared, along with butter and ham sandwich for extra source of energy in the morning. A spoon of honey can also be given at night prior to sleep for optimal rest and recovery.
Balance Restoration
Honey is believed to maintain balance in the body. According to Real Food For Life, honey has been utilized in ayurvedic medicine in India for at least 4000 years and is seen to have a positive effect on all three of the body’s material imbalances. Due to its ability to penetrate the body’s deepest tissues, it is also called “Yogavahi.” Honey’s power is also boosted when it is used in conjunction with other herbal preparations; it also improves the medicinal properties of such herbal preparations, allowing them to reach deeper tissues in the body.
In line with restoring balance in the body, honey is also linked to the improvement of weight loss and eyesight, as well as the management of conditions like nausea, diarrhea, bronchial asthma, urinary tract disorder, premature ejaculation, and impotence.
Wound Management
Aside from having a sweet taste, an interesting note is that honey can also help in the management of wounds. According to the journal Nursing Standard, honey has antimicrobial properties, allowing it to prevent infection to the wound site and promote autolytic debridement. In addition, it promotes moist wound healing while deodorizing wounds. Moreover, it aids stimulate the healing process, such as in dormant wounds, by activating the wound tissues. To add, BBC News also learned in July 2006 that physicians at the Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester planned to utilize honey for faster recovery of their cancer patients following a surgical procedure.
For the time being, efforts are yet to be done with regard the exact role of honey in wound treatment.
Sample Recipe
Honey is often paired up with bread; hence, Pumpkin Honey Bread is a promising recipe. According to Honey, the ingredients include a cup of honey, half cup of butter or margarine, a can of solid pack pumpkin, four eggs, four cups of flour, four teaspoons of baking powder, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon, two teaspoons of ground ginger, a teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt, and a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
To prepare, honey and butter are mixed in a bowl until the resulting mixture become light and fluffy. Then, the pumpkin is added. After that, the eggs are beaten, one at a time, until they become thoroughly mixed. Next, the other ingredients are stirred into the pumpkin mixture. The batter is then divided equally to the loaf pans and is baked for an hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. The loaves are allowed to cool for ten minutes. Finally, the pans are inverted to remove the loaves, which are let to further cool on racks.
Overall, honey is as sweet as its benefits to human health. Thus, its inclusion to various meal recipes is considered practical.